Quick Reaction: Raptors 100, Knicks 83 - Raptors Republic

Lay anchor, fellas. A win is a win.

	O. Anunoby34 MIN, 5 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 1-10 FG, 0-7 3FG, 3-4 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 22 +/- Had a very nice defensive game on Randle. Offensively, he made a couple nice passes after knifing into the defense, but he was so-so. Ideally, no more 0-for-something games from the 3-point line going forward.
	N. Powell34 MIN, 17 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 7-13 FG, 2-7 3FG, 1-1 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, 28 +/- Brought a significant scoring pop to the starting lineup. Pulled willingly from downtown and punched gaps to get to the bucket. A nice return to form for him, hopefully.
	F. VanVleet35 MIN, 25 PTS, 5 REB, 7 AST, 1 STL, 9-19 FG, 4-9 3FG, 3-3 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 21 +/- Lots of spot-up opportunities to cash in on. Liked his poise in this one a lot. He even made some nice plays in the mid-range. Very encouraging stuff on the offensive end tonight.
	K. Lowry36 MIN, 20 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL, 6-12 FG, 4-9 3FG, 4-6 FT, 0 BLK, 4 TO, 11 +/- Kept the team afloat with Norm in the early going. Aggressive in the screen game, played well out of the horns sets, and scrambled well on defense. Pedestrian by his standards, but a really nice game.
	A. Baynes14 MIN, 3 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 1-3 FG, 1-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 0 +/- Was the Raptors least effective big man tonight. Canned a three to open the game up, but did little else. He’s also still not providing much in the way of rim protection. He’s getting walked under the bucket on the odd occasion.
	C. Boucher24 MIN, 9 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 3-9 FG, 1-4 3FG, 2-5 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 11 +/- Really liked his energy in this one. Super aggressive diving to the bucket, and added a vertical threat that the Raptors didn’t otherwise have. He competes every second he’s out there.
	T. Davis16 MIN, 10 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-7 FG, 2-5 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, -5 +/- A very quiet ten points, but he always finds shots for himself. Transition, offensive rebounds, whatever, he slides into open spots. His defense is still very gamble heavy with little payoff, and the on-ball stuff was mistake laden. Production on shot attempts is nothing to scoff at, though.
	S. Johnson12 MIN, 0 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 0-2 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- He’s an above average defender. He doesn’t bring much of anything to the offensive side of the floor. Both of those were true tonight.
	A. Len12 MIN, 11 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 3-4 FG, 3-3 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 8 +/- By the power of Zeus, he raised the Raptors up in his giant hands at the end of the third quarter. His 3 triples were like a life line. He’s huge defending the rim, which is good. He’s also very slow-footed in the pick n’ roll defensively and gambles with pokes for no reason. Good performance.
	Y. Watanabe9 MIN, 0 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 0-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -8 +/- Had a clean block stolen away by a bad call. He brings energy defensively and on the glass. Didn’t provide anything of substance offensively, though.
	P. Watson2 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/- Too short a stint.
	D. Bembry2 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -1 +/- Too short a stint.
	M. Flynn2 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/- Too short a stint. Would like to see meaningful minutes for him.
	Nick Nurse Very odd rotations in this one, but the game was going to call for that as soon as the Siakam news was announced. In my limited view, I think the lack of any meaningful Flynn minutes is a shame. Can’t complain about too much when there’s a W, though.

Things We Saw

1. The Pascal Siakam situation is extremely odd. Either there’s more going on behind the scenes, or the Raptors have decided to abandon their history of leniency and draw a hardline with their max player. For example, Terence Davis cut a hole in his mask to specifically disobey the rules that were set out by the NBA, and the Raptors didn’t lay down any punishment. So, my guess? There’s at least something else going on here. Nurse’s post-game comments should help with clarity.
2. The Raptors can’t count on the opposing team shooting 9-percent from deep very often. Their closeouts and rotations were still pretty sloppy in this one, and they were just as capable of going into an offensive drought against this Knicks defense. A win is a win, but questions should still be asked of how they plan to succeed against better teams.
3. That game was a fever dream. Incredibly sloppy basketball, played in Tampa, with crowd noise plugged in, and people sparsely populating the stands. Anyway.

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2021-01-01 03:05:10Z
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